Antenna apparatus, electronic apparatus and antenna modification method

ABSTRACT

An antenna apparatus, an electronic apparatus and an antenna modification method are provided. The electronic apparatus includes a multiplexer and the antenna apparatus. The multiplexer combines a control signal and a first radio frequency (RF) signal to form a combination signal. The antenna apparatus includes a feeding portion, a de-multiplexer, a modification circuit and a radiation portion. The feeding portion receives the combination signal. The de-multiplexer separates the combination signal into the control signal and the first RF signal. The modification circuit receives the control signal and the first RF signal, and modifies an impedance. The first RF signal is influenced by the impedance to form a second RF signal. The radiation portion receives the second RF signal. Accordingly, merely single cable would be needed for feeding signals into the antenna apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/621,561, filed on Jan. 24, 2018. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure

The disclosure relates to an antenna technology, and more particularly to an antenna apparatus, an electronic apparatus, and an antenna modification method thereof

Description of Related Art

In recent years, electronic products (such as desktop computers, notebook computers, smart phones, etc.) have been miniaturized, and the components or appearances used in the products need to be adjusted accordingly to meet the demand. However, limitations in shape or appearance are likely to affect the performance of some electronic components. For example, the bandwidth or other characteristics of the antenna is likely to be limited or underperformed. In light of the above, there is a need to propose a suitable solution for improving the antenna characteristics.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure provides an antenna apparatus, an electronic apparatus and an antenna modification method thereof, which are capable of dynamically modifying modes and only need a single cable for feeding into the antenna apparatus.

An antenna apparatus in an embodiment of the disclosure includes a feeding portion, a de-multiplexer, a modification circuit, and a radiation portion. The feeding portion receives a combination signal. The de-multiplexer is electrically connected to the feeding portion and separates the combination signal into a control signal and a first radio frequency (RF) signal. The modification circuit is electrically connected to the de-multiplexer, receives the control signal and the first RF signal, and modifies the impedance formed by the modification circuit according to the control signal. The first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form a second RF signal. The radiation portion is electrically connected to the modification circuit and receives the second RF signal.

An electronic apparatus in an embodiment of the disclosure includes a multiplexer and an antenna apparatus. The multiplexer combines the control signal and the first RF signal into a combination signal. The antenna apparatus includes a feeding portion, a de-multiplexer, a modification circuit, and a radiation portion. The feeding portion receives the combination signal. The de-multiplexer is electrically connected to the feeding portion and separates the combination signal into a control signal and a first RF signal. The modification circuit is electrically connected to the de-multiplexer, receives the control signal and the first RF signal, and modifies the impedance formed by the modification circuit according to the control signal. The first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form a second RF signal. The radiation portion is electrically connected to the modification circuit and receives the second RF signal.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the feeding portion and the multiplexer are connected by a cable, and the cable is configured for transmitting the combination signal.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control signal is a direct current (DC) bias signal having a voltage level, and the modification circuit changes the capacitance value according to the voltage level, thereby changing the impedance.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control signal is configured for band switching.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the band switching corresponds to a support band of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic apparatus further includes an RF signal processor and a modification circuit controller. The RF signal processor is coupled to the multiplexer to generate a first RF signal and generates an indication signal according to a support band of the SIM card. The modification circuit controller is coupled to the RF signal processor and the multiplexer, and generates a control signal according to the indication signal.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the radiation portion includes a first radiation portion, a second radiation portion, and a shorting portion. The first radiation portion corresponds to the first band. The second radiation portion corresponds to a second band different from the first band. The shorting portion is grounded.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the antenna apparatus further includes a ground portion. The ground portion is electrically connected to the modification circuit through an inductor.

An antenna modification method in an embodiment of the disclosure includes the following steps. The combination signal is input to the antenna apparatus. The combination signal is separated into the control signal and the first RF signal. The impedance of the antenna apparatus is modified according to the control signal, such that the first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form the second RF signal. The second RF signal is emitted.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control signal is the DC bias signal having the voltage level, and modifying the impedance of the antenna apparatus according to the control signal includes the following step: changing the capacitance value according to the voltage level, thereby changing the impedance.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control signal is configured for band switching.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, before the inputting the combination signal into the antenna apparatus, the method further includes the step of: generating the control signal according to the support band of the SIM card.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control signal corresponds to one of at least two modes, and each of the modes corresponds to a different band.

Based on the above, the antenna apparatus, the electronic apparatus, and the antenna modification method thereof in the embodiments of the disclosure are capable of modifying the impedance of the antenna apparatus according to the support band of the SIM card, such that the signal emitted by the antenna has a better bandwidth and efficiency with respect to the support band. In addition, the antenna apparatus only needs a single cable to simultaneously obtain the control signal and the RF signal without an additional controlling wire to be connected to the antenna apparatus.

In order to make the aforementioned features and advantages of the disclosure more comprehensible, embodiments accompanying figures are described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an antenna apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an antenna modification method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an antenna efficiency according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic apparatus 100 may be an apparatus such as a notebook computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a handheld game console. The electronic apparatus 100 includes at least but not limited to the antenna apparatus 110, the multiplexer 130, the modification circuit controller 150, the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) 170, and the radio frequency (RF) signal processor 190.

The antenna apparatus 110 includes at least but not limited to the feeding portion 111, the de-multiplexer 112, the modification circuit 113, the radiation portion 114, and the ground portion 115.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an antenna apparatus 110 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, the antenna apparatus 110 of the embodiment of the disclosure belongs to an active antenna. The feeding portion 111 is a feeding point that receives the feed signal. The de-multiplexer 112 is electrically connected to the feeding portion 111, and the de-multiplexer 112 may separate the combination signal COMB into the RF signal RF1 and the non-RF signal (for example, the control signal CTRL).

The modification circuit 113 is electrically connected to the de-multiplexer 112. The modification circuit 113 may be a chip or a circuit such as an adjustable matching circuit or a variable capacitor that is controlled to change the overall resistance value. For example, the modification circuit 113 may change the capacitance value according to the direct current (DC) bias signal with different voltage levels (i.e., the specific voltage level corresponds to a specific capacitance value or a range of capacitance values), thereby changing the impedance formed by the modification circuit 113. The modification circuit 113 may be grounded through the inductor L or connected to a shorting line (not shown).

The radiation portion 114 is electrically connected to the modification circuit 113. The radiation portion 114 includes the first radiation portion 114A, the second radiation portion 114B, and the shorting portion 114C. The first radiation portion 114A is extended toward the left of the drawing from the modification circuit 113 and corresponds to the first band (for example, 700 to 900 MHz, 1800 MHz to 2100 MHz, etc.). The second radiation portion 114B is extended toward the right of the drawing (i.e., different from the extending direction of the first radiation portion 114A) from the modification circuit 113 or the first radiation portion 114A and corresponds to the second band (for example, 700 to 900 MHz, 1800 MHz to 2100 MHz, etc.). The shorting portion 114C is connected to the ground portion 115 (i.e., grounding). It should be noted that, in order to actuate the modification circuit 113, the modification circuit 113 may be connected to the ground portion 115 through the inductor L or directly connected to the shorting portion 114C (that is, without configuration of the inductor L). Moreover, the appearance of the radiation portion 114 shown in FIG. 2 is for illustrative purposes only, and may vary (e.g., with increased or decreased branches, extended sections, transition sections, etc.) to support different bands.

The multiplexer 130 may be a T-type bias tee or other multiplexers that can combine RF signals with non-RF signals. In this embodiment, the multiplexer 130 may combine the RF signal RF1 and the control signal CTRL to form the combination signal COMB. The multiplexer 130 has two input terminals for receiving the RF signal RF1 and the control signal CTRL respectively, and one output terminal for transmitting the combination signal COMB. It should be noted that the feeding portion 111 and the multiplexer 130 of the antenna apparatus 110 are electrically connected through the cable 135 (for example, a coaxial cable or other RF cables), and the cable 135 is configured to transmit the combination signal COMB. That is, the antenna apparatus 110 inputs the feed signal (i.e., the combination signal COMB) through only one cable 135.

The modification circuit controller 150 is, for example, a controller such as a chip, a circuit, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the modification circuit controller 150 is coupled to the multiplexer 130. In this embodiment, the modification circuit controller 150 selects and outputs the control signal CTRL (for example, a DC bias signal having a specific voltage level) requested by the indication signal SW according to the digital indication signal SW.

The SIM 170 may be a pluggable SIM card, or an embedded SIM (eSIM).

The RF signal processor 190 may be a processor, an ASIC, a chip, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and the RF signal processor 190 is coupled to the multiplexer 130, the modification circuit controller 150 (for example, through the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) or other transmitting interface), and the SIM 170. In this embodiment, the RF signal processor 190 may integrate circuits such as an amplifier, a digital-to-analog converter, a mixer, etc. to form the RF signal RF1. In addition, the RF signal processor 190 may integrate a mobile communication protocol related software module to generate the indication signal SW related to the band modification. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the RF signal processor 190 and the modification circuit controller 150 may also be integrated into a single circuit or a chip to directly provide the control signal CTRL.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the operational flow of the disclosure, various embodiments will be described in detail below. Hereinafter, the method described in the embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to each apparatus and component in the electronic apparatus 100 of FIG. 1. The various processes of the method may be adjusted accordingly depending on the implementation situation, but are not limited thereto.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an antenna modification method according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3, the RF signal processor 190 selects a support band according to the SIM information recorded by the SIM 170 (step S310). In this embodiment, the SIM information corresponds to one or more support bands (e.g., bands 1, 3, 7, 8, etc., or 700, 900, 1800 MHz, etc.). The RF signal processor 190 may record the previous or original support band, and compares the previous or original support band with the current support band of the inserted SIM 170 after the SIM 170 is replaced, the electronic apparatus 100 is turned on, or other triggering conditions occur, thereby determining whether to switch the band. If the previous or the original support band is different, the RF signal processor 190 decides to switch the band. On the other hand, if the previous or the original support band is identical, the RF signal processor 190 does not need to switch the band and determines the support band again when the next triggering condition occurs.

It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the RF signal processor 190 may directly determine to switch the band according to the location of the electronic apparatus 100 (it is known that the base station at a specific location only supports a specific band). Alternatively, the RF signal processor 190 may switch the band according to other conditions (e.g., signal quality, telecommunication operator's preset configuration, etc.), and adjustment may be made depending on the actual needs of the user.

If the RF signal processor 190 determines to switch the band, the RF signal processor 190 provides the indication signal SW (step S320) and the RF signal RF1 (step S330) respectively according to the selected or determined band. In the embodiment, the indication signal SW is, for example, related to a specific one or more bands, and the indication signal SW is a signal for adjusting the modification circuit controller 150 or a signal supported by two connection interfaces. The RF signal RF1 is generated through digital to analog conversion, amplification, filtering, mixing, and the like.

Then, the modification circuit controller 150 generates the control signal CTRL according to the request of the indication signal SW (step S340). In the embodiment, the control signal CTRL is configured for band switching, for example, switching to a specific band or switching to another mode and so on. In another embodiment, the control signal CTRL corresponds to one of at least two modes, and each mode corresponds to a different band. In other words, the control signal CTRL is generated based on the support band of the SIM 170. According to different types of modification circuits 113, the modification circuit controller 150 generates a signal that meets the requirement of the input signal of the modification circuit 113, thereby controlling the modification circuit 113. In an embodiment, the control signal CTRL is a DC bias signal of a specific voltage level. For example, the control signal CTRL may be a bias signal of 1.5, 3, or 5 volts, and each of the bias signals corresponds to one of the modes or bands of the antenna apparatus 110. It should be noted that the content or electrical properties of the control signal CTRL may be different according to different types of modification circuits 113.

The control signal CTRL and the RF signal RF1 are respectively input to the multiplexer 130, and the multiplexer 130 integrates, mixes, or combines the control signal CTRL and the RF signal RF1 to form a combination signal COMB, and outputs the combination signal COMB to the antenna apparatus 110 (step S350). This combination signal COMB will be fed into the feeding portion 111 of the antenna apparatus 110 through the cable 135, and then be inputted into the de-multiplexer 112. The de-multiplexer 112 separates the combination signal COMB into the control signal CTRL and the RF signal RF1, and inputs the control signal CTRL and the RF signal RF1 to the modification circuit 113 respectively (step S360).

The modification circuit 113 will modify the impedance formed by itself according to the control signal CTRL. For example, the low-capacitance value is formed according to the high-voltage control signal CTRL; the high-capacitance value is formed according to the low-voltage control signal CTRL, thereby changing the impedance (it should be noted that the high and low are used to indicate the relative high and low values of the two). The impedance of the modification circuit 113 (or the overall impedance of the antenna apparatus 110) is changed, which will affect the RF signal RF1, thereby generating or forming the RF signal RF2 that is affected by the change of impedance. The modification circuit 113 inputs (for example, directly transmits or uses coupling manner) the RF signal RF2 to the radiation portion 114 (step S370), such that the radiation portion 114 emits the RF signal RF2.

It should be noted that the impedance change of the antenna apparatus 110 affects the bandwidth, frequency band or other antenna characteristics of the emitted RF signal RF2 (i.e., forms another mode), and the embodiment of the disclosure is capable of modifying the mode of the antenna apparatus 110 depending on the need. In addition, the embodiment of the disclosure only needs a single cable 135 to simultaneously transmit the RF signal RF1 and the control signal CTRL, which is different from the related art in which an additional line is required to transmit the control signal CTRL, thereby simplifying the circuit design.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an antenna efficiency according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4, it is assumed that the control signal CTRL may have two voltage levels such as high voltage and low voltage (for example, the high voltage is 12 volts and the low voltage is 2 volts), and the two voltage levels are respectively used to indicate two modes 410, 420. As can be seen from the drawing, for the low-frequency portion (for example, 700 to 900 MHz), the antenna efficiency of the first mode 410 (low voltage) at around 800 to 900 MHz is higher than that of the antenna efficiency at around 700 to 800 MHz. The antenna efficiency of the second mode 420 (high voltage) at around 700 to 800 MHz is higher than that of the antenna efficiency at around 800 to 900 MHz.

It should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are exemplified by only two modes, and in other embodiments, there may be more changes of modes. In addition, depending on the impedance that the modification circuit 113 can change, the change of mode may also be different. On the other hand, the radiation portion 114 in the antenna apparatus 110 shown in FIG. 2 is only for illustrative purposes, and the antenna structure in other embodiments may be different, and the disclosure provides no limitation thereto.

In summary, the antenna apparatus, the electronic apparatus and the antenna modification method thereof in the embodiments of the disclosure dynamically modify the impedance of the antenna apparatus in response to the support band, thereby providing better antenna efficiency for a specific band. In addition, in the related art, the antenna apparatus needs to additionally provide a plurality of controlling lines to control the impedance matching circuit therein. However, the embodiment of the disclosure only needs to provide a single cable to simultaneously transmit the control signal and the RF signal.

Although the disclosure has been disclosed by the above embodiments, the embodiments are not intended to limit the disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Therefore, the protecting range of the disclosure falls in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An antenna apparatus, comprising: a feeding portion, receiving a combination signal; a de-multiplexer, electrically connected to the feeding portion and separating the combination signal into a control signal and a first radio frequency (RF) signal; a modification circuit, electrically connected to the de-multiplexer, receiving the control signal and the first RF signal, and modifying an impedance formed by the modification circuit according to the control signal, wherein the first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form a second RF signal; and a radiation portion, electrically connected to the modification circuit and receiving the second RF signal.
 2. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding portion is connected to a cable for transmitting the combination signal.
 3. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is a direct current (DC) bias signal having a voltage level, and the modification circuit changes a capacitance value according to the voltage level to change the impedance.
 4. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is configured for band switching.
 5. The antenna apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the band switching corresponds to a support band of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card.
 6. The antenna apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control signal corresponds to one of at least two modes, wherein each of the modes corresponds to a different band.
 7. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radiation portion comprises: a first radiation portion, corresponding to a first band; a second radiation portion, corresponding to a second band different from the first band; and a shorting portion, grounded.
 8. The antenna apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a ground portion, electrically connected to the modification circuit through an inductor.
 9. An electronic apparatus, comprising: a multiplexer, combining a control signal and a first RF signal into a combination signal; an antenna apparatus, comprising: a feeding portion, electrically connected to the multiplexer and receiving the combination signal; a de-multiplexer, electrically connected to the feeding portion and separating the combination signal into the control signal and the first RF signal; a modification circuit, electrically connected to the de-multiplexer, receiving the control signal and the first RF signal, and modifying an impedance formed by the modification circuit according to the control signal, wherein the first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form a second RF signal; and a radiation portion, electrically connected to the modification circuit and receiving the second RF signal.
 10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the feeding portion and the multiplexer are connected through a cable for transmitting the combination signal.
 11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control signal is a DC bias signal having a voltage level, and the modification circuit changes a capacitance value according to the voltage level to change the impedance.
 12. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control signal is configured for band switching.
 13. The electronic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the band switching corresponds to a support band of an SIM card.
 14. The electronic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the control signal corresponds to one of at least two modes, wherein each of the modes corresponds to a different band.
 15. The electronic apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: an RF signal processor, coupled to the multiplexer to generate the first RF signal and generate an indication signal according to a support band of the SIM card; and a modification circuit controller, coupled to the RF signal processor and the multiplexer, and generating the control signal according to the indication signal.
 16. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the radiation portion comprises: a first radiation portion, corresponding to a first band; a second radiation portion, corresponding to a second band different from the first band; and a shorting portion, grounded.
 17. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the antenna apparatus further comprises: a ground portion, electrically connected to the modification circuit through an inductor.
 18. An antenna modification method, comprising: inputting a combination signal to an antenna apparatus; separating the combination signal into a control signal and a first RF signal; modifying an impedance of the antenna apparatus according to the control signal, such that the first RF signal is affected by the impedance to form a second RF signal; and emitting the second RF signal.
 19. The antenna modification method according to claim 18, wherein the control signal is a DC bias signal having a voltage level, and the step of modifying the impedance of the antenna apparatus according to the control signal comprises: changing a capacitance value according to the voltage level, thereby changing the impedance.
 20. The antenna modification method according to claim 18, wherein the control signal is configured for band switching.
 21. The antenna modification method according to claim 20, wherein before the step of inputting the combination signal to the antenna apparatus, the method further comprises: generating the control signal according to a support band of an SIM card.
 22. The antenna modification method according to claim 20, wherein the control signal corresponds to one of at least two modes, wherein each of the modes corresponds to a different band. 